


Hope

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Atlantis (UK TV)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-24 21:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3785311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Jason wants is for Pythagoras to be happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deinonychus_1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deinonychus_1/gifts).



> Written as a Christmas present for the lovely [](http://deinonychus-1.livejournal.com/profile)[deinonychus_1](http://deinonychus-1.livejournal.com/) who gave the prompt “he/she/it followed me home, so I kept it.” This was written before Series 2 aired, so no spoilers of any kind.

Jason wiped his brow with a cloth and wondered, not for the first time, why it was always him who ended up doing the shopping. Hercules had peddled out some nonsense about Jason's pretty face turning the stall holders heads, but he suspected the real reason was none of them trusted Hercules as far as they could throw him.

As it was Jason was struggling to barter a decent couple of meal's worth of food. Tonight the three of them really would have to sit down and formulate a proper plan. They couldn't go on like this much longer – Pythagoras was practically all bone no matter how much he ate.

Finally the old woman handed over the bread Jason had been after, but not before completely cleaning him out of money. He truly didn't understand Atlantis' commerce system, but they all needed jobs, and they needed them yesterday.

He took a slow walk back to their rooms, taking in the sounds and smells of his new home. He liked how familiar it felt, deep in his bones, even if outwardly it was all very confusing. But that was not something he wanted to confront without the alcohol none of them could afford.

He nodded to a few people he recognised, but most people ignored him. He had only been in Atlantis a few months and it already looked like he'd become part of the furniture. Given that trouble seemed to find him wherever he ended up, that was probably for the best, though it didn't do much for his ego.

As he approached their front door he frowned and stopped. Pythagoras was talking to someone, and in a tone of voice Jason had never heard before. It sounded, well, if Jason didn't know better he'd say that Pythagoras was _flirting._

Jason took a couple of steps back and awkwardly looked around, as if an escape option would suddenly manifest itself in front of him. Pythagoras had every right to...surely he'd had...before Jason turned up their must have been...he had a life before Jason came crashing in...

Jason spun on his heels, confused about all the thoughts and feelings confronting him, when he'd been so desperately trying to banish them to the furtherest corners of his mind. As he moved his dagger hit the stair banister and he cursed at the loud cracking sound it made.

“Hello?” Pythagoras called out. “Is anyone there?” There was a hushed sound, as if Pythagoras was offering a comforting word to someone and then he called out again. “I have a sword, and I'm not afraid to use it!”

Jason found himself smiling even as he steeled himself for whatever scene he was about to be confronted with; Pythagoras deserved to be happy, after all.

“It's only me,” Jason called out. “I just...it's just me.” He stepped inside their home and cast a quick glance around the room. He put the food he'd purchased on the table and tried to peer into any possible hiding spots, but as far as he could tell, Pythagoras was alone.

“You bought dinner,” Pythagoras said. “Thank you.”

Jason nodded, still slightly confused. But then he supposed it didn’t seen that unusual that Pythagoras might talk to himself. Not when he was probably working on a particularly tricky problem.

“I don't suppose you bought any milk?” Pythagoras asked. He was rooting through Jason's meagre purchases with a somewhat distracted air, and with one arm held against his chest.

“Milk? No...Are you hurt?”

“Hurt? What makes you think that? Everything's fine. Absolutely brilliant. I'll just start putting these things away then, shall I?”

“You're babbling,” Jason said. He put his had on the hilt of his dagger. “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” Pythagoras said. Then he wiggled. There was no other word for it. Jason drew his dagger.

“ _Pythagoras._ ”

Pythagoras sighed. “I'm sorry, I lied. I'm not alone.” He then surprised Jason by removing a large ball of fluff from inside his waistcoat.

Jason looked at it curiously, still unsure whether or not this was yet another Atlantean threat he was unaware of.

Pythagoras looked sheepish. “It followed me home...so I kept it.”

“But what is it?”

Pythagoras' face morphed into that expression he only wore when dealing with Jason. Jason in no way found it adorable.

“It's a rat catcher.” And so saying, he put it down onto the table where it stretched out, its tiny claws scratching slightly against the wood.

“A cat,” Jason said, staring down at the fluffy mound of white fur. “You were talking to a cat.”

“Rat catcher,” Pythagoras corrected.

“Calling it a rat catcher isn't going to make Hercules any happier to see it.”

“Worth a try, though,” Pythagoras said.

Jason started to say that no, it wasn't. Hercules would point out that they didn't have enough food to feed themselves, never mind a growing animal. Hercules would point out that they had nowhere for it to sleep, and that they had no idea how to look after it. But Jason couldn’t do any of those things. Not when Pythagoras was looking at him like he'd hung the moon.

“Definitely worth a try,” Jason agreed. Then he moved forward and before he could stop himself, tilted Pythagoras' chin upwards, and kissed him.

It was over almost before it began, but Jason had no chance to offer up an explanation, or an excuse, because Pythagoras was pulling him into a much more thorough kiss, that left them both breathless by the end of it.

“So,” Jason said, a little awkwardly.

“Yes,” Pythagoras agreed.

The cat on the table then started mewling at them, diverting their attention away from staring into each other's eyes.

“I think it needs feeding,” Pythagoras suggested.

“It needs a new name too,” Jason said. “Why don't you think of that and I'll go see what I can find in the market for him. Or her?”

“Her,” Pythagoras said. “I think.”

They both looked at the cat.

“She looks like a she, doesn't she?”

Jason shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I've already got a name for her.” Suddenly Pythagoras looked very unsure. “Though, perhaps, it's a bit too silly.”

“No,” Jason said, putting his hand on Pythagoras' arm. “I'm sure it won't be. What do you want to call her?”

“Hope,” Pythagoras said. He glanced quickly at Jason and then scooped up the cat before she fell off the table. Jason wondered insanely if cats had nine lives by now, or if that came later.

“You don't like it?” Pythagoras asked, a sad downturn to his mouth that Jason wanted nothing more than to kiss away. So he did.

When he was finished he took a step back. “Hope is perfect,” he said.

And then he kissed Pythagoras again. Just because he could.


End file.
